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Submissions in limbo?

In our newest “how can we help you?” thread, a couple of readers wrote in about submissions that seem to be in some sort of limbo. One reader wrote:

I am wondering what to do with a submission about which I cannot get any update.
Here is the context: I submitted a manuscript to an Oxford Studies volume. I got an email confirming that they have received the manuscript and they would send it to external review. Six months after submission, I sent an email asking for updates on the status of the manuscript, but I haven’t heard back from them. It’s now been eight months since submission, and I am wondering if this is a normal thing to happen, especially with a prestigious journal like the Oxford Studies series. I am also wondering what I should do next—should I withdraw the submission, or should I just wait, or take some other step? I’d appreciate any advice. Thank you!

And the second wrote:

I have a question about the journal of moral philosophy. I submitted a paper there more than a month ago and its status on editorial manager is still listed as “submitted to journal”. Usually in other journals the status would have at least changed to something like “editor assigned” so I am a little worried that it is languishing without editorial attention. But maybe this is typical for JMP?

Do readers have any helpful insights to share?

Posted in

17 responses to “Submissions in limbo?”

  1. Anonymous

    I have been told that it is appropriate to email and inquire about the status of one’s manuscript (after 3 or 4 months!). However, I’m not entirely sure what purpose that serves, since it hasn’t seemed to make the process go any faster.

    Probably, what has happened is it is difficult to find reviewers, and that if you withdraw, you’ll run into similar problems.

    I have had papers under review for well over a year that end up getting published at the venue. My best advice: forget the paper exists until you receive an email.

    Reply
  2. JMP submitter

    Re: JMP

    I submitted almost a year ago and have followed up for updates with no success. It has been listed as “under review” in the editorial manager system. I withdrew the paper snd again no acknowledgement. On the other side of things, I submitted a review for them 3 months ago and a decision hasn’t been made on it yet (or at least the system hasn’t been updated). I don’t know what’s going on over there.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    I think you need to decide how quickly this paper needs to move. I had a paper rejected once after waiting two years. It was a non-urgent side project so I indulged them, but if I had been committed to publishing it soon, I would have withdrawn it and sent it elsewhere.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    Another data point for JMP: I’ve had a paper under review with them for over two years now.

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      Curious: is this due to multiple rounds of R&R, or are you still waiting for an initial verdict? Have they meaningfully communicated to you about what had happened in the meantime?

      Reply
  5. Anonymous

    If it helps at all, I also submitted to JMP earlier this year, and it took just over a month for the status to change from “Submitted to Journal” to “Under Review.” However, the automated email I received at that point said the manuscript “has been assigned to the editor for further processing,” which suggests it was still sitting with the editor. The status hasn’t changed since, and it’s now been another month.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    I’ve had a response to R&R pending at JMP for well over 6 months, and have been unable to get meaningful responses. The journal is clearly broken.

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    JMP OP: These data points are very very depressing… a year and two years sounds absolutely ridiculous. I might just withdraw my paper soon if I don’t see any update.

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    Wow, this makes me think that the desk rejection after 3 months I once received from JMP was quick by comparison.

    Reply
  9. Anonymous

    Regarding Oxford Studies, I submitted to a series a few years ago and there was a long time between confirmation of receipt and then a decision. I don’t recall the exact details but it was close to a year. When I did receive the decision (R&R), I had two sets of helpful comments from reviewers along with more comments from the editor, who was supportive during the process of revising and the paper and getting it accepted (which also took some time, but it was well worth it).

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    The website for JMP lists more than one dead person as being on their editorial board, so clearly they’re not keeping on top of the details

    Reply
  11. Anonymous

    Corroborating what others have said about JMP. Had a friend wait a year for a desk rejection. I enjoy a lot of what gets published there, but I’ve only heard negative things about the publication process with them. Given this and other anecdata, I will never submit to them.

    Unfortunately I have no personal or secondhand experience with any Oxford Studies journals to offer the first OP. Still professionally unacceptable not to respond to an update request after 6 months.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous

    On Oxford Studies, I only have experience with Political Philosophy. They have a conference to run, so one is guaranteed a quick decision.

    Reply
  13. Anonymous

    Hi folks, I mentioned this thread to S. Matthew Liao, the editor of JMP, and he asked me to post the following message here:

    “We are aware of the issue. Basically, very unfortunately, our Managing Editor has been quite ill, but we only recently realized the extent of the illness. We’ve recently found a temporary replacement but will need a bit of time to bring the new person up to speed. We hope to rectify the situation as soon as possible.”

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    At Marcus’s suggestion, I wanted to post this question here:

    Does anyone have experience with American Philosophical Quarterly? I submitted there *several* months ago, and the status still says only “Successfully submitted”. I don’t know if they simply don’t update their status, or if I need to reach out.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous

    On American Philosophical Quarterly: My experience from more than a year ago was that the status does change. At that time, in about a month the status was changed to ‘reviewers assigned’.

    Reply
  16. Anonymous

    On APQ, my submission is also several months in but still stuck at “Successfully submitted”.

    Reply

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